Answers to your questions!
Many of you have written us through this blog and also by email and facebook with questions for us. I wanted to dedicate this blog entry to answering those questions...if I can remember them all.
1. Q: Are you getting sore or having muscle cramps from being in bed all the time?
A: Not really. I wear compression boots 24/7 that constantly "massage" my legs and promote blood flow throughout my body, so I think those are going a long ways toward helping me feel well even though I am in bed all the time. I also have an air mattress that the nurses keep inflated, which feels a lot better than a regular mattress.
2. Q: How are you, do you still have a fever?
A: I am feeling really well. I have felt no contractions in a week. My fever is gone, so they are no longer worried about my body being harmful for the baby. We praise the Lord for keeping my feeling well and symptom free so far!
3. Q: Have you gotten to eat tacos yet?
A: Yes! I received tacos and a burrito (on different days) from both sets of our parents! Yummy!
4. Q: Does Andy stay overnight at the hospital too?
A: Yes. Andy is setting up his "bed" every night to be here with me. He doesn't complain much, but last night he made a trip home to do laundry and stayed home overnight for the first time, and he said it felt "so good" to sleep in his own bed!
5. Q: What are you watching on TV?
A: Like we said earlier, we don't miss Wheel of Fortune at 6:30. We watch the news during lunchtime. We've also started to like the Food Network and I like some of the shows on TLC, like "John & Kate plus 8." I just saw that show for the first time last night, and I can't believe how big she got when she was pregnant with the sextuplets! Man alive!
6. Q: Do you have a window in your room for a view during the day?
A: Yes, we have a nice sized window in our room that actually lets in a decent draft, so Andy gets pretty cold during the night as he sleeps! But, we do have a nice view of the city, but I can really only see the tallest buildings from my bed. There are two huge cranes that are working on constructing something most all the time! We heard it might be a new Wellmark building. Today there has been snow floating by our window most of the day.
7. Q: What is your address?
A: While we are here in the hospital, our address is:
Andy and/or Elizabeth Smith; Room # 658
Iowa Methodist Medical Center
1200 Pleasant Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-1453
8. Q: How long will you be in the hospital?
A: We have heard no good answer to this question. The doctor yesterday said kind of as a general rule, they will keep me as long as my cervix is under 2 cm long. But, they have not set that as a hard and fast guideline yet. We just wait until after every ultrasound to hear if there has been any progress, and maybe one day they will say that there has been enough improvement that I will be able to go home to finish out my pregnancy on bedrest. We don't worry about it too much though, and just rest in the fact that we are being well taken care of, and God knows best.
9. Q: Who is your main doctor?
A: Our main doctor is actually the high-risk pregnancy doctor, named Dr. Drake. She is technically playing a consulting role to the OB doctor staff, but she seems to be the most involved in our care. She comes to visit us every day that she is working and is really great. We talk about our mutual faith. We learned the other day that she is one of the high-risk pregnancy doctors (of two) that helped with the Septuplet pregnancy back around 12 years ago. We knew we were in good hands, but when we heard that, we figured we were in very capable hands!
10. Q: Are you accepting visitors?
A: Yes, since it looks like we will be here for a long time, then we have been welcoming visitors. Now that I have been stable and the same for many days in a row, I feel better about having people come to visit. We always love to see people that we know!
11. Q: Have you decided on a name for your little boy yet?
A: Yes!
We will let the name be a surprise for now.
1. Q: Are you getting sore or having muscle cramps from being in bed all the time?
A: Not really. I wear compression boots 24/7 that constantly "massage" my legs and promote blood flow throughout my body, so I think those are going a long ways toward helping me feel well even though I am in bed all the time. I also have an air mattress that the nurses keep inflated, which feels a lot better than a regular mattress.
2. Q: How are you, do you still have a fever?
A: I am feeling really well. I have felt no contractions in a week. My fever is gone, so they are no longer worried about my body being harmful for the baby. We praise the Lord for keeping my feeling well and symptom free so far!
3. Q: Have you gotten to eat tacos yet?
A: Yes! I received tacos and a burrito (on different days) from both sets of our parents! Yummy!
4. Q: Does Andy stay overnight at the hospital too?
A: Yes. Andy is setting up his "bed" every night to be here with me. He doesn't complain much, but last night he made a trip home to do laundry and stayed home overnight for the first time, and he said it felt "so good" to sleep in his own bed!
5. Q: What are you watching on TV?
A: Like we said earlier, we don't miss Wheel of Fortune at 6:30. We watch the news during lunchtime. We've also started to like the Food Network and I like some of the shows on TLC, like "John & Kate plus 8." I just saw that show for the first time last night, and I can't believe how big she got when she was pregnant with the sextuplets! Man alive!
6. Q: Do you have a window in your room for a view during the day?
A: Yes, we have a nice sized window in our room that actually lets in a decent draft, so Andy gets pretty cold during the night as he sleeps! But, we do have a nice view of the city, but I can really only see the tallest buildings from my bed. There are two huge cranes that are working on constructing something most all the time! We heard it might be a new Wellmark building. Today there has been snow floating by our window most of the day.
7. Q: What is your address?
A: While we are here in the hospital, our address is:
Andy and/or Elizabeth Smith; Room # 658
Iowa Methodist Medical Center
1200 Pleasant Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-1453
8. Q: How long will you be in the hospital?
A: We have heard no good answer to this question. The doctor yesterday said kind of as a general rule, they will keep me as long as my cervix is under 2 cm long. But, they have not set that as a hard and fast guideline yet. We just wait until after every ultrasound to hear if there has been any progress, and maybe one day they will say that there has been enough improvement that I will be able to go home to finish out my pregnancy on bedrest. We don't worry about it too much though, and just rest in the fact that we are being well taken care of, and God knows best.
9. Q: Who is your main doctor?
A: Our main doctor is actually the high-risk pregnancy doctor, named Dr. Drake. She is technically playing a consulting role to the OB doctor staff, but she seems to be the most involved in our care. She comes to visit us every day that she is working and is really great. We talk about our mutual faith. We learned the other day that she is one of the high-risk pregnancy doctors (of two) that helped with the Septuplet pregnancy back around 12 years ago. We knew we were in good hands, but when we heard that, we figured we were in very capable hands!
10. Q: Are you accepting visitors?
A: Yes, since it looks like we will be here for a long time, then we have been welcoming visitors. Now that I have been stable and the same for many days in a row, I feel better about having people come to visit. We always love to see people that we know!
11. Q: Have you decided on a name for your little boy yet?
A: Yes!
We will let the name be a surprise for now.
Elizabeth,
Just read the update on that little ones foot! I recall how badly I wanted to take showers when confined to a hospital bed. Praying for you that God will shower you with some special blessings by being in the hospital for this time.
Pat
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I LOVE Iron Chef and Dinner Impossible! Hope those chefs on Food Network aren't making too much Mexican food! Could cause covetousness.
-Lori
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